STATEWIDE — It’s the time of year when many Hoosiers see a lot more coyotes roaming around.
That’s typically not a big deal if you live in rural parts of the state where you see them all the time. But GeriAnn Albers, a furbearer biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, tells Indiana Outdoors it’s around this time they get a lot of calls from people concerned they are seeing them in more urban areas as well.
“There are a lot more coyotes running around,” she said. “Its because young coyotes leave their parents in the spring and go find their new territory. In a couple of weeks they will start pairing up and mating, which is why you see a lot more of them this time of year.”
“A lot of times, folks in more urban areas don’t expect to see them,” Albers continued. “Even though coyotes are a common member of the urban wildlife community.”
She said coyotes actually gravitate to urban areas because the food they normally eat is in close proximity to where humans are. They eat squirrel, rats, and mice to name a few and those animals stay close to humans as a food source.
Albers said there has never been a bad incident recorded between humans and coyotes, but there have been incidents in other states. She added those incidents were mostly brought on because humans were feeding coyotes, so she reminds you not to feed them.
Other than that she reiterated the old adage that they are just as afraid of you as you are of them.
(PHOTO: Wild Horizon/Getty Images)
